Four Junior National Team alums set for CFL National Combine
Abdesmad first Quebec-product to participate in NFL Combine
Photo credit: USA Football
With professional football combine season in full swing, a number of national team alumni have been invited to showcase their skills in preparation for professional drafts.
Four set for CFL National Combine
This former 2012 Junior National Team foursome, that helped Canada to 2012 IFAF U19 World Championship gold, have been invited to participate in the 2016 CFL Combine in Toronto, March 11-13:
- Kadeem Adams – OL – Western – Halifax, N.S.
- Doug Corby – REC – Queen’s – Burlington, Ont.
- Quinn Horton – DL – Simon Fraser – Winnipeg, MB.
- Mercer Timmis – RB – Calgary – Burlington, Ont.
Current Montreal Alouettes’ defensive coordinator Noel Thorpe will have some inside information on the group, having lead the 2012 national team as head coach in Austin, Texas.
View a full CFL National Combine roster here.
2009 alum participates in NFL Combine
Montreal native Mehdi Abdesmad, a member of Canada’s U19 national team at the 2009 IFAF U19 World Championship in Canton, Ohio, participated in the most recent NFL Combine in Indianapolis. By doing so, the former Vieux Montreal Spartiate became the first Quebec product to attend the NFL’s National Combine. Up until 2016, Quebec-born players had only ever attended NFL regional combines.
He looks to follow the path of either McGill product Laurent Duvernay-Tardif who was drafted in the 6th round of the 2014 NFL Draft by the KC Chiefs or Carolina Panthers offensive lineman, David Foucault who was signed as an undrafted free agent that same year. Other Quebec products currently on NFL rosters are longtime Cowboys’ long snapper JP Ladouceur and Packers’ special teams contributor Andy Mulumba.
Four more land CFL regional invitations
An additional four members of Canada’s gold medal winning 2012 Junior National Team also received invites to regional CFL selection camps in the hopes of impressing scouts enough to earn a ticket to the national combine. Calgary Dinos product Michael Schmidt earned an invite to the Edmonton regional combine on March 7 while Montreal’s CFL regional combine on March 9 includes current Rouge et Or linebacker Pierre-Luc Caron. Rounding out the invitees are Keldyn Ahlstedt (McMaster) and A’dre Fraser (Guelph) who secured spots at the Toronto regional combine on March 10.
Full list of CFL combine invitees here.
Junior National Team alumni currently on CFL rosters
Name – Jr. National Team – Current CFL Team
Kirby Fabien – 2009 – BC Lions
David Menard – 2009 – BC Lions
Mike Dubuisson – 2009 – Edmonton Eskimos
Danny Groulx – 2009 – Edmonton Eskimos
Pierre Lavertu – 2009 – Calgary Stampeders
Karl Lavoie – 2009 – Calgary Stampeders
Adam Thibault – 2009 – Calgary Stampeders
Jesse Briggs – 2009 – Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Jake Thomas – 2009 – Winnipeg Blue Bombers
John Rush – 2012 – Winnipeg Blue Bombers
Byron Archambault – 2009 – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Lindon Gaydosh – 2009 – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Ron Omara – 2009 – Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Lirim Hajrullahu – 2009 – Toronto Argonauts
Matt Sewell – 2009 – Toronto Argonauts
Tanner Doll – 2012 – Ottawa REDBLACKS
Jean-Samuel Blanc – 2009 – Montreal Alouettes
Brandon Bridge – 2009 – Montreal Alouettes